Pretty Guardians of Earth
by SailorCopperOwl
Summary: When Queen Serenity visits Earth for the first time to see what that young prince there is trying to pull by installing his own magical guardians, things aren't what she expected them to be like at all. PGSM prequel
1. Magical girl

**This story initially was planned to be something Rei would memorize from her past in Night Jade. But then Nigth Jade was complex enough on its own, and I didn't want to force Rei to do things because of past memories. Actually, I had always liked her approach to focus on the present. ****So I wrote up this story separately. **

**Maybe I should give a non-warning: Don't expect romance. Jadeite is twelve here. A one-sided crush is all he can hope for. Yes, I play with the shotacon issues that PGSM Jadeite and his hair unfortunately brought up, that whole buttload of oedipus issues he has inherited from anime Chibi-Usa, because it bugs the hell out of me. I usually avoid the topic by making Jadeite older, or behave more maturely... but for this one, I wanted to address it clearly while at the same time not crossing the line. **

**Sigh, I feel a lot like giving a long rant about all the missed opportunities for character moments that the choice of a Shitennou roughly the age of the senshi would have had... probably saving that for later...**

**For now, have fun, and don't leave the reviewing to someone else. **

* * *

><p><em>Earth Kingdom, the distant past.<em>

A sandy field outside the palace walls served as training area for the young boys who were to become palace guardians or officers in the King's army one day. The young prince himself wasn't excused from the training routines either, even if his skills were already outstanding.

But he was to give a good example for the younger ones, and team up with Nephrite, prince's guardian and combat instructor, to teach armed combat. It was a good way for Prince Endymion to get to know, and if possible impress, the boys who would one day serve under him. In particular, it was a good way to keep Nephrite from losing his temper over Jadeite, the youngest of the prince's personal guardians, who was lousy at everything besides magic.

Today was archery training. The group of boys just entered the field with their instructors when another group was leaving. A group of guests from the moon. Women. Female warriors. Beautiful women wearing weapons and very short dresses.

Nephrite complained to Prince Endymion that he hadn't been told that the field was already in use, because he damn sure wouldn't have taken a hoard of impressionable youngsters to where they would see _bare legs _and probably forget manners over it. The boys were of course very excited, as noone had seen the visitors up close so far. They had arrived the very morning, and not only impressionable youngsters would have held their breath at their sight.

Prince Endymion gave his youngest personal guardian a side glance and was amused about the enthusiasm on Jadeite's face. The big blue eyes were shining, and the whole boy was one open-mouthed picture of awe and admiration, openly staring at one of them, a woman of striking beauty with long black hair and an air of pride around her.

"Never seen you so excited about anything that wasn't magical," Endymion said.

"But she is magical," breathed Jadeite. "And she's the most beautiful woman in the world."

Endymion smiled. It had to happen one day, he thought.

Jadeite was only twelve, and still very childish in appearance and behaviour. As a sourcerer, he was forbidden to interfer with girls, and the only female being he had ever paid attention to since Endymion's mother had died, was either a cat, a mare or a youma.

"Do you want to greet her?" he grinned, as the group from the moon had already cleared all the distance to the palace and would soon be out of sight.

Jadeite turned his head, and stared at him out of big eyes. "If that's okay..." he said. They both knew it was not okay.

"Of course. She's a guest, you just say hello, right? A matter of manners if you accidently happen to run into honored guests of the palace. I'll distract Nephrite for you. Just be polite."

Jadeite felt something heavy slip into the pouch he wore at his belt.

"Oh no, Jadeite," said Endymion aloud. "I think I forgot my feather knife on my table. Would you run and get it for me? Thank you, there's a good boy."

Jadeite grinned at him, bowed, and dashed away, leaving his quiver with the arrows at Endymion's feet.

Endymion grinned and picked it up.

"Now what was that about?" he suddenly heard Nephrite next to him. "It's news to me that he's allowed to drop his weapons to the ground like that. I don't know what you are planning, Master Endymion, but Jadeite is not going to skip his training hours like this. You know he'll need every minute of exercise he can get."

"I'll see to it that he does some extra time when he's back," said Endymion. "And we're planning nothing, really."

"We?" said Nephrite. "I hope 'we' aren't as guilty as we look, and 'we' will behave well with the visitors. It's the first time a moon delegation comes to visit us primitive Earth barbarians, we'd better make an excellent impression."

Endymion sighed. He hadn't even been introduced to the visitors yet, that would come in the evening, with a formal dinner. So much for his father's confidence in his ability to "make an excellent impression". But Moon royals had a reputation of being extremely refined and incredibly easily offended, and Endymion's education had focussed more on military and magical abilities than on what Moon people thought were good manners. Seriously, who would have thought there would be a necessity to deal with them anyway?

But then he thought of his guardians, and grinned. Magical guardians on Earth, that had gotten their attention. They didn't like it. He couldn't wait to see their faces tonight when they would be introduced to his guardians, and he couldn't wait to hear what Jadeite had to report about them.

"Ah!" he hissed when the bowstring pinched his arm when he did his first shot.

Nephrite sneered his unique "didn't I tell you" sneer.

"And that's the most educational way to learn how not to be distracted," he lectured the younger boys, and they weren't afraid to grin at their prince. He grinned back.

Now where was Jadeite, and what was he doing that long?


	2. The servant

Jadeite ran back to the palace at top speed. He was a good runner, but he was almost too late, he could already see the visitors turn towards the guest wing where he wouldn't be allowed to follow them. But he wouldn't catch up with them fast enough unless he...

"Oh snap!" hissed Mars, as the strap of her bag came off, the bag fell down and the contents spilled all over the ground.

"Exactly," snickered Jupiter, and Mercury added: "You probably didn't consider that Earth gravity..."

"Mercury, please..." Mars groaned and started to pick up her equipment. Earth gravity was exactly the reason why she had brought the little sand weights to tie to her wrists and ankles to train. She had never thought they could be too heavy for her favourite bag.

"May I help you? If you don't mind...?" she suddenly heard a breathless voice, and when she looked up, the first thing she saw were big blue eyes and an even bigger smile framed by slightly silly looking blond curls. A blond boy in a dusty light brown tunic had knelt down and started to pick up her things.

"Really, you don't... as a guest... I can..." he panted. "If you... hope you... Welcome to Earth!" he finally found a complete sentence he could trumpet out, his huge smile getting even brighter.

Jupiter and Mercury exchanged a glance, which Mars saw very well, as she eyed the little servant. His sudden appearance had caught her off guard somehow. She didn't like servants to touch her weaponry, not even the training stuff, but she was a guest, and he was just cute and nice and meant well.

"Err... thank you..." Mars replied surprised and watched him quickly pick up and pack all her equipment into her package, a lot neater and faster than she did.

"Where can I bring it for you?" he beamed at her, jumping up, clutching the bag to his thin chest.

Mars frowned. She wasn't fond of getting other people's emotions flashed to her unfiltered, especially when people became too enthusiastic about her, but this little sevant was obviously overenergetic by nature, judging from his rapid movements and the way he all but hopped from excitement when he awaited directions.

"Follow me," she said, and he carried the bag behind her, his happiness obvious even in her back, and she knew that Jupiter would tease her with that little admirer later.

He trailed behind her - he _was_ hopping, from what she heard in his steps - until they got to the door of her quarters, where he stopped. Mars only realized it when she was already some steps into the floor that led to her rooms and turned around. "What is it?" she asked.

He cast his eyes down and very politely asked: "If you would kindly grant me permisson to enter your realm, mylady."

Involuntarily, Mars smiled. That was a weird thing to say, but actually very nice. "Permission granted. What a diplomatic way to speak," she complimented him, when he dashed into the room like he'd been shot from a catapult, and he blushed when he thanked her. He was adorable really, and not as clingy as she had initially thought.

"You are our guests, I can't just stomp in," he explained seriously. "Of course I need to be polite."

"Very considerate. I'm afraid I'm not famiiar with the dress code of servants in this palace, I hope I'm not keeping you from doing something important you should do."

He shook his head, put the bag where she waved her hand to, and then straightened his posture, and proudly pointed to the dragon embroidery on his collar. "That means I am serving directly under Prince Endymion," he explained, and his eyes lit up.

"You take great pride in that, it seems," said Mars, and he nodded enthusiastically.

It made her smile. And it spoke for Endymion, whether Venus would admit that or not.

"Well, thank you, and please give him my apologies for keeping you. What's your name?"

"Jadeite, mylady."

"Like the guardian?" asked Jupiter astonished.

Jadeite grinned. "Yes," he said. "Like the guardian."

"Must be a popular name on Earth," said Mercury.

Jadeite bowed deeply, and said a polite good-bye, as he had been dismissed already, but he wasn't exactly hurrying out.

But suddenly, he flinched, and opened his eyes wide, when a coarse, angry male voice roared from the little garden outside the quarters:

"Jadeite, are you in there? You better not, but if you are, you come out _right now_!"

The boy paled.

"It's been a big honor thank you have a nice stay I am bein called thank you always at your service and you're magnificent like a queen excuse me!" he blurted out in one sentence and dashed out with remarkable speed.

Actually, the three senshi had alo flinched considerably at the rage in that voice that had called him. It wasn't like they didn't know what shouting was, but this man had a power behind his voice that was unsettling.

They all tiptoed to the windows that faced the garden, to see a tall man in a maroon tunic, spiky red hair and angrily sparkling blue eyes grab Jadeite's neck and take him with him.

"Jadeite, are you totally out of your mind?" he bellowed, but his rage was controlled, although still intimidating. "Women's quarters, it's a disgrace. Wait til Master Endymion hears that. I do hope you didn't forget to bring his knife while you were busy gaping at the foreign beauties, or you better start praying right now."

"I got it, I got it, see?" squealed Jadeite, and wiggled out of his grip. He turned back and gave Mars' window a smile and a shy wave. It earned him a slap on the back of his head that almost sent him to the ground, but he didn't seem to be impressed "Nephrite, you should have seen her! She's more beautiful than a pike scale queen!"

A growl answered him. "I hope you didn't tell her that."

"No, no, but I almost did. Maybe I'll tell her next time..."

"Don't you dare..."

Their voices trailed off as they went further, but the three senshi stayed glued to the window, watching after them.

* * *

><p>"May I know what's so fascinating out there?" asked a chilly voice in their backs. "I hope you're not all drooling over that boar of a combat instructor."<p>

They all turned around, slightly guilty. Of course they all were curious, but well mannered guardians weren't supposed to show it so openly. Venus, their leader, was very nervous about this trip to Earth, and bad manners were not a good idea right now.

"So he's a combat instructor?" asked Jupiter. "And no, we aren't _all_ drooling over him." She grinned. "Mercury and me are positively drooling over him, but Mars here, believe it or not, is drooling over the little blond cutie."

"Very funny," growled Mars. "He was just helping me out when my bag broke. That's all."

"That doesn't explain why you led him into our quarters," replied Venus icily. "No matter how young, he has a crush on you, and it doesn't make a good impression if the senshi of passion lures lovesick boys into her rooms."

"I didn't lure him!" replied Mars angrily. "He just carried my bag for me."

"If that's not luring, then I don't know," said Venus with a stern gaze and examined the bag.

" That strap didn't break," she said. "it was cut right through. Your little admirer didn't leave it all to chance, it seems. I'll see to it that this gets known to his superiors."

"Ah, Venus, now you're overreacting," said Jupiter. "He was nowhere near us when the strap gave in. Don't give us a reputation of bullying servants."

"Yes," said Mercury. "He was just trying to help, he was more than polite, and he was so adorable."

"I've seen him," said Venus coldly. "Staring at the senshi of passion all the time. He's not an age to meddle with. You should be ashamed of yourself, Mars."

"Oh, leave me alone," snapped Mars. "My favourite bag broke, and now I get accused of letting a servant pick it up for me, what a crime indeed. If you really had been watching him instead of just taking offense of him, you'd have found out some interesting things about Earth."

"And those would be?"

Mars dropped onto a seat and took off her shoes.

"Just out of curiosity, would you lift up my bag please, Venus?"

Venus frowned, but then grabbed the bag with one hand - and to her surprise almost dropped it.

"Heavy!" she said.

"Exactly," said Mars with a grim smile. "Earth gravity. Did you see how delicate this boy was, and still he carried it without staggering, skipping and jumping all the way, like he didn't even notice the weight? And did anyone notice his personal magical field?"

"Yes. " Mercury of course. "It was amazing. And he's just a palace servant. Imagine what he would be able to do with some magical training... it might be we have underestimated Earth. That combat instructor... he's kind of the same... the reason why we react so strongly towards him could be his great magical potential that we unconsciously were feeling..."

"So far, Earth has been nothing like what we expected," said Jupiter. "The land's beautiful, people are powerful beyond the ordinary, the palace is primitive but very comfortable, and everyone has been very hospitable and nice. There might be other surprises waiting."

"Yes, and not all of them might be pleasant. Stay alert, and keep your eyes open. Finding out more about Earth will be very important."

That was her way of apologizing to Mars. Mars just lifted an eyebrow in return.

"I wonder what a pike scale queen is," said Mercury.


End file.
